Political Horizons for May 11, 2008

• By MARK BALLARD
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: May 11, 2008 - Page: 9B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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With the exception of unpublicized visits to church services and well-scripted rallies, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is rarely seen in public.

So it came as a bit of a surprise that on Wednesday morning — as a Lafayette magazine published an article about Jindal’s lack of access entitled “Stonewall Jindal,” — the governor held a press conference.

Jindal gathered his leaders on the fourth floor in the State Capitol to urge lawmakers “to curb spending.”

It was his mantra.

What was odd last week —  other than that Jindal came out from behind his security cordon to talk to the public — was that the press briefing was held prior to the meeting where state officials decide how much money the state has to spend.

The Revenue Estimating Conference, a panel of state officials of which Jindal is member, met Friday to announce Louisiana would have $462 million left over after paying its bills and meeting its financial obligations when the fiscal year ends June 30.

When Jindal spoke Wednesday, he likely had a pretty good handle on just how much money was available. But the governor batted aside the biggest question: How much additional revenue would be recognized?

Instead, he talked about fiscal restraint. When asked about a push to eliminate state income taxes, he talked about cutting spending.

The choice of what to do with the excess money is basically:

• Let it sit around until next year.
• Spend it now, say, on the more than $1 billion backlog of construction projects for which the state would otherwise have to borrow money.
• Pay down the $10.3 billion necessary to ensure the retirement promised to state workers and teachers.

To spend the bulk of the additional revenue recognized Friday, legislators first would have to agree to raise the ceiling on state spending — commonly called “busting the cap” around the State Capitol. This would be the second time since March that legislators would have been called on by Jindal, a self-described fiscal conservative, to vote for spending more.

The ceiling is designed to keep state spending in check. Two-thirds of the state Legislature must agree to spend the excess money because it exceeds the spending limit or “cap.”

That may not prove easy, because Jindal:

• Derided Gov. Kathleen Blanco for out-of-control spending — then presented a $30 billion budget that uses more money from the state taxpayer dollars than his predecessor’s original proposal for the current fiscal year.
• Ridiculed Blanco for doing the same thing last year.

So in his rare encounter with the public, Jindal focused on cutting spending to make government more efficient.

He was asked about legislation that would eliminate state income taxes over a 10-year period. Doing away with a major source of the state’s revenues popped up as an amendment on another measure, passed through the state Senate easily and is getting favorable reviews in the House of Representatives.

Asked what he would do if the bill to eliminate income taxes reached his desk, Jindal repeated his stance that tax cuts must be accompanied by spending cuts. The additional revenue recognized Friday undercuts Jindal’s argument, something the governor no doubt anticipated when he held a press conference ahead of the meeting rather than after it.